Sphygmomanometer in the form of a cuff



May 11, 1954 F. R. POOLE ET AL 2,678,040

SPHYGMOMANOMETER IN THE FORM OF A CUF F' Filed March 16, 1955 INVENTORJ/Tomfsr E BY @Av/ /lz (www Patented May 11, 1954 SPHYGMOMANOMETER IN THEFORM OF A CUFF Forrest R. Poole and David M. Clark, Worcester, Mass.;said Poole assigner to said Clark Application March 16, 1953, Serial No.342,628

5 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel blood pres- Sllle measuring apparatusOI Sphygmol'l'lanomelel,

and the principal object of the present invention is to make the same ofa new construction which is simple enough for self-application by theperson wishing to determine his blood pressure. There are those whorequire the taking of their blood pressure daily, or at less frequentintervals, and in the prior art, this has only been possible by havingsomeone else apply the sphygmomanometer and take the readings, but bymeans of the present invention the person conveniently is enabled totake the readings himself as often as he wishes.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of asphygmomanometer which is of particularly light weight and easy inapplication and is made in the form of an annulus or cuff which can beslipped up the arm by the person using it and this cuff is provided withan iniiating bulb which may be operated by the hand of the limb uponwhich the cuff is applied, and the cuff also is provided with a gaugewhich is set so that the person taking the pressure may read itdirectly, as the hand is engaged in pumping the air pressure.

Further objects of the invention resides in the provision of anon-stretchable sphygmomanometer in the form of a cuff including aninner bladder made of fabric, water-proofed by means of a coating, saidbladder being formed of two parts in the form of an annulus, the innerpart being larger than the outer part and overlapping the outer part atthe edges, said bladder being covered by a fabric envelope made in theform of an annulus and having a larger inner part secured to a smallerouter part, none of the parts being stretchable in any way, all to theend that the cuii sphygmomanometer may be pumped up to a conditionwherein the inner part thereof impinges upon the limb of the userwithout any pressure being registered upon the dial, so that anabsolutely accurate reading is obtainable as distinct fromsphygmomanometers using rubber bladders which require pressure tostretch them out even before pressure is applied to the users limb.

The invention further relates to arrangements and combinations of partswhich will be hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 isa View in elevation showing the outside of the device flat and deflated;

Fig. 2 is an end view on a smaller scale illustrating thesphygmomanometer pumped up sufficiently for the inner fabric memberparts to just contact each other and illustrating that the gauge isstill uneffected and registers Zero;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional View showing the outer envelope;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view on the same scale as Fig. 3 and showing theinner bladder;

Fig. 5 is a View in elevation of the bladder;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View on a reduced scale of the entire device; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section through the seam of the inner bladder andthe outer envelope.

In the first place, it is emphasized that the entire sphygmomanometer inthe present oase is made of non-stretchable fabric, preferably nylon,and it comprises an outer annular envelope or cover and an inner annularcoated bladder, neither of which is stretchable, and the inner bladderbeing larger than the envelope. Each annular member, i. e. the cover andthe bladder, comprises two parts, an inner part and an outer part, andeach inner part is wider than the outer part, overlapping the latter atthe edges.

The sphygmomanometer is shown generally in Fig. 1 wherein the outerfabric member of the envelope is indicated at l0. When uninflated,

the inner part of the outer envelope is visible as at l2, the two partsbeing secured by a seam lli. Extending through the outer part I0 are apair of nipples I6 and I8, and the hole in member Il] through which theyprotrude is preferably made by heat so as to prevent any unravelling ofthe outer part I0.

The envelope is shown enlarged in Fig. 3 wherein the outer part l0 isdisclosed of a certain length and the inner part l2 there is disclosedas having a greater length. This fact is of importance and is thusemphasized. The same construction obtains as to the inner bladder (Figs.4 and 5) wherein the outer part thereof 20 is smaller than the innerpart thereof at 22 and the latter is apparent at the edges of thebladder (see Fig. 5). The nipples I6 and t8 are hermetically sealed tothe outer member 20 to provide access from the exterior of thesphygmomanometer to the interior of the bladder.

The outer part 20 of the inner bladder is provided with a series oflaterally extending tabs 254 which are used to secure the bladder to theenvelope or cover and which prevent any relative shifting of one withrespect to the other. These tabs are folded over as at 28 (see Fig. 7).They are then sewed to the inner part i2 of the cover as at 28, and thepart l2 is then sewed at 39 to the outer part l0. All of these seams aremade after turning the edges of the respective members inwardly and theinner part 22 of the bladder is secured to the outer part 20 thereof inthe same manner as at 32 although this particular seam may be madeadhesively or by heat or pressure sealing.

The dial gauge 34 applied to one of the nipples I6 or It, and the bulb36 applied to the other nipple, may be conventional and well known andform no part of the present invention except that the position of thegauge 34 is such as to be easily readable with the sphygomomanometercuff in place on the arm, and the bulb has a tube 38 so that if the cuffis placed upon the left arm, the left hand may be easily used to inflatethe device while the right hand is then free for determining the pulse,and both diastolic and systolic readings are easily obtained by theoperator of the device himself.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 6,A there is shown the sphygmomanometerwherein the bulb 36 has been pumped enough to just cause the innermembers of the device to come together without exerting any pressure oneach other. This has taken several strokes of the bulb but does notcreate any pressure within the device and this in turn is due to theconstruction above described wherein the inner part 22 of the bladderand the inner part I2 of the envelope are both larger than therespective outer parts thereof and this provides sufficient material forthe effect described, it being remembered that none of the material isstretchable.

Therefore it will be seen that they smallest limb may be placed in thecuf, and when such limb is impinged upon by the inner parts i2 (22) asshown in Fig. 6, the reading will be zero on the gauge until actualpressure is applied to the member, and thus an absolutely accuratereading is obtained with the sphygmomanometer cuff of the presentinvention. If there were any stretching of the fabric, then there wouldbe pressure required to occasion such stretching and thus in Figs. 2 and6 there would be a reading on 'the dial even though there were no-pressure exerted on a member in the cuff.

he above also goes to show why the single cuff be applied to any limb ofany size and no adjustment of any kind is necessary. The present deviceaccurately determines the desired pressure reading on the smallest limbup to and including any limb which may be thrust into the cui when it isentirely evacuated. Valve means may be applied to the bulb so that thethumb of hand in which the bulb is held and by which it is squeezed mayeasily provide for evacuation ef the air so as toobtain both thediastolic and systolic pressures with the one application of the device.

It is also an important part of the present in vention to provideagainst any ballooning of the outer members and of course this isaccomplished because the materials are non-stretchable and also becausethe outer members are smaller than the inner members as above described,so that once the inner circumference is in contact with any object orlimb, all pressure is directed inwardly, all of the pressure is allabout such object or limb. There is no one spot pressure applied to asingie position, and there are no gaps in the pressure which is even allabout the object or limb, so that complete occlusion is accomplished.

The novel sphygmomanometer cuff will not roll upon the limb and there isnothing in the construction of the present device to crack, pinch orirritate as is the case in articles made of rubber. The present devicedoes not blanch the skin or leave any marks on the skin surface. Nocomplicated stays, hooks, or reenforcements are needed and the bloodpressure is completely accurate and has equal pressure thereaboutregardless of the degree of the pressure, as distinct from the case ofthe usual wrap-around device, etc. of the prior art.

We claim:

1. A self-applied sphygmomanometer in the form of an annulus adapted tobe slid upon the limb of the user, a gauge and pressure bulb attached tothe sphygmomanometer, the gauge facing the user and the bulb beingoperable by the hand of the limb to which the sphygmomanometer isapplied, the other hand of the user being free to aid in determiningpulse, said sphygmomanometer comprising non-stretchable material and theinterior wall of the annulus being loose and full and greater in extentthat the exterior wall thereof.

2. A self-applied sphygmomanometer in the of a cuif and comprising anannular cover and an annular bladder in the cover, a pressure indicatinggauge and a pressure bulb connected to the bladder, the material of thecover and bladder both being non-stretchable and the interior part ofthe bladder being greater in extent the exterior part thereof so thatthe interior part of the bladder becomes pressed inwardiy upon itselfupon the application of air thro-ugh the bulb into the bladder and thesphygmomanometer fails to become distended outwardly.

3. A self-applicable sphygmomanometer in the form of an annulus, saidsphygmomanometer comprising an inner bladder, and an outer covering, thebladder and covering each comprising two parts, one part forming aninner wall and the part forming an outer wall as regards the annulus,each inner wall being greater in extent than the respective outer wallsand providing for distortion inwardly toward the center of the annulusbut not outwardly thereof so that all the pressure of thesphygmomanometer is inwardly directed.

4. A self-applicable sphygmoinanometer in the form of an annulus, saidsphygmomanometer comprising an inner bladder, and an outer covering, thebladder and covering each comprising two parts, one part forming aninner wall and the part forming an outer wall as regards the annulus,each inner wall being greater in extent than the respective outer wallsand providing for distortion inwardly toward the center of the an nulusbut not outwardly thereof so that all the pressure of thesphygmomanometer is inwardly directed, and impinges upon any size oflimb in the annulus, the bladder and covering parts beingnon-stretchable.

5. A self-applicable sphygmomanometer in the form of an annulus, saidsphygmomanometer comprising an inner bladder and an outer covering, thebladder and covering each comprising two parts, one part forming aninner wall and the part forming an outer wall as regards the annulus,each inner wall being greate in extent than the respective outer wallsand providing for distortion inwardly toward the center of the annulusbut not outwardly thereof so that all the pressure of thesphygmomanometer is inwardly directed and impingesupon any size of limbin the annulus, the bladder and covering parts being non-stretchablewoven fabric, the bladder being coated and impervious, and meanssecuring the bladder to the covering.

No references cited.

